Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire starting April 5, 2023.


Happy Reading!

Thank you!!

See Emily's comment below for the two shorts to be read after Late Eclipses:

--Toby and the Shoes
--Through This House

Spot!

So there are 2 short stories that can be read after Late Eclipses:

--Toby and the Shoes-- available here https://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.co...
--Through This House-- Available in Home Improvement: Undead Edition (available through Libby at my local library :))

Thank you so much, Emily! This really helps!!!

Ditto that!! Adding to my comment up top, even though yours is just two below...

And thank you for putting in threads for the other books!

Time for book 4... this one explores Toby's backstory, from the prologue of the first book...

And a bit more about the Lady/Queen of the Mists...

This is the one that really solidifies Toby's mission strategy: face tank everything at breakneck speed until she passes out, and trust she'll survive (foolishly)... but I guess it works...

Curse of being a Hero, I guess... luckily she has some advantages...

Also... you can tell these are still the "slow books" because there's time for car transportation :D

The series trends towards the Shadow Roads, as it progresses...

The Changeling's Choice: (view spoiler)[finally... some answers... me and Emily can talk a little more freely now (a smidge)...

Toby isn't Daoine Sidhe... that's why her blood magic is stronger... Daoine Sidhe are children of Titania... and Toby has always been a child of Oberon... the father of heroes... just moreso than she thought...

She was also alot less than 50% fae up until now... Amandine tried to make her fully human during her childhood... so she was probably barely 25% until Rosemary and Rue... touching the Hope Chest a few times unconsciously made her 30-40%... and this incident where Amandine saved her from elfshot brought her back up to around 40-50%, changing the balance of her blood to burn out the elfshot...

This'll be a running theme throughout the series... I'll say more, depending on what else is revealed in this book... so far, the plot is dancing around other reveals... (hide spoiler)]

@Emily: "did she say anything else?": (view spoiler)["Beware the Lady of the Lake, because she's never forgiven you your story; but to be more afraid, by far, of Morgaine..."

Talk about foreshadowing... (view spoiler)[Lady of the Lake = Luideag... altho I dunno if I agree with that warning... Luideag has been a much better friend/maternal figure than Amandine...

Morgaine tho... Eira Rosenwyr... what a bitch :D (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Will hopefully be here by Friday. ^^

Same!

Timelord Iain wrote: "@Emily: "did she say anything else?""

This is definitely a book I wish I had a text version! Eventually I'll get them all in hard copies... But (view spoiler)[ thanks for writing that one out! I was gonna revisit it... Re Lady of the Lake (view spoiler)[ Perhaps "your story" is referring to being Amandine's daughter, and Amandine is daughter of Janet which led to Maeve's disappearance? Otherwise I don't see anything of Toby herself's story that would require forgiveness on Ludieag's part.. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Timelord Iain wrote: "The Changeling's Choice: finally... some answers... me and Emily can talk a little more freely now (a smidge)"

Book spoiler(view spoiler)[ are these blood changes the "choices" Amandine referred to in Toby's dream state? Amandine said something like she chose twice more than when she was last in this room making her first choice...

Also Tybalt said when she had iron poisoning she changed herself while being a fish to break the curse... Is that one of the "choices"?

Simon Torquil (@Iain)(view spoiler)[ Rereading this, Simon hid Toby on purpose so Eira and Oleander couldn't get to her... It was cruel to Lily and her people, but he tried in his twisted way... (hide spoiler)]

There are SO many hints of things to come in this book, its kind of wild! :D (hide spoiler)]

1) Yes on choices

2) I thought it was the 4000 sunrises…

3) For sure foreshadowing…and/or seeding clues/hints…

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "@Emily: "did she say anything else?""

This is definitely a book I wish I had a text version! Eventually I'll get them all in hard copies... But [spoilers removed]"

I read these the first time pre-audiobooks, so I have the ebooks... always nice to be able to do a text search and paste some text... sometimes that's half the value of KU, too...

Timelord Iain wrote: "1) Yes on choices

2) I thought it was the 4000 sunrises…

3) For sure foreshadowing…and/or seeding clues/hints…"

Hmm I don't quite remember (2), but I'll do some redditing, etc to refresh

I started this yesterday and have been listening all morning. Up to Ch. 19... There are just way too many bad things happening and I am so scared that (view spoiler)[ we will lose May!!! I know Toby is going to be OK, since we have a bunch of more books following, but I don't want to lose any of our favorite characters! May just found a great girlfriend, she started living her own life, I want her to stay alive!!!

I don't trust Walter! Where did he come from? Why is Toby taking his word about the tox report? I don't know, something is fishy there...

Lily!!!! She loved Toby's mom! And I can't believe she is gone now! She was the gentlest, most loving of Toby's allies... That made me so sad!

Is Luna going to be OK? She has to, or I don't see how Silvester is ever going to forgive Toby and she will lose his support too... She is already beating herself up with guilt over Luna and the daughter, this will f her up majorly! Could the daughter be working with Oleander? That would be horrible!

And now the kittens are dying:(((( This is just too much sorrow!!! (hide spoiler)]

There’s a book for that :(… When Sorrows Come ;)…

No! Don't tell me even more sorrow follows?!?!

Up to Ch. 25... So, crazy mom has been keeping some secrets... (view spoiler)[ Toby can't be mad at Silvester for not telling her, because he promised and he couldn't break it...

Amandine is so weird - I need to know more about her! So, she changed Toby's blood to be closer to pure blood... Iain, you said closer to 50% now... And she is not Daoine Sidhe... She is Amandine's daughter! Child of Oberon... So cool!!!

Why does the Queen hate her so much? I understand Silvester's daughter, as misguided as her hatred is, I can see how she can twisted, so she could blame Toby and hate her. But why the Queen? I don't get it.... (hide spoiler)]

This series is heavy on the sorrow/trauma... but there are happy times, too...

There are also certain characters I want to say a million things about... but they're all spoilers... like (view spoiler)[Luna is a bitch... especially once she loses her kitsune skin... it must be a character flaw, because Acacia and April are "tree people" and have emotions and are perfectly likeable... (hide spoiler)]

Or (view spoiler)[Walter is a Pretty Princess... (hide spoiler)]

Or (view spoiler)[anything to do with Rayselline, really... so excited to see that play out (in the newest releases)... (hide spoiler)]

Or (view spoiler)[Connor/Tybalt... (hide spoiler)]

Those are all spoilers... some more than others... especially the earliest ones... I got lazy/vague as I went along... and didn't even touch on (view spoiler)[Titania, Maeve, Oberon, or Janet (hide spoiler)], some of the biggest spoilers for the series...

:D :D :D

Iain, that is one spoiler bomb! Lol
Careful first time readers :p

Oh! I had another thought about the "Lady of the Lake" @Iain (view spoiler)[ couldnt that be the Queen of the Mists (current not Arden)? That fits more with the never forgive your story bit (hide spoiler)]

I am excited about all the puzzles! I am really sorry to hear about (view spoiler)[ Luna! That really sucks, but I am grateful for the heads up! (hide spoiler)]

The only upside, I'd say, is eventually Toby has to learn to stop blaming herself for everything?... (view spoiler)[when she's got people like Luna blaming her for things that are/were beyond her control... (hide spoiler)]

She does her best... what more can people ask? (alot, honestly)... I could post spoilers for days... totally forgot about XYZ, that will be a bigger deal in The Brightest Fell

XYZ?

I finished... These books have been more emotional than anything else... And by emotional, I mean walking on the melancholy side. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it, but as much as we get a ton of touching moments and good characters, it is also a bit of a downer... Still great reads though...

So, Toby is (view spoiler)[ The Ludieag is Toby's direct aunt! Interesting and kind of awesome! But it doesn't seem like the Sea Witch has much love for her sister though, does it?!

The Queen still hates Toby and Rayeselline is on the wind... I was surprised that Oleander was killed, honestly. I thought she might have been a recurring baddie, but I am glad, because I hate how paranoid she made me...

Luna lost her Kitsune skin... Now I am worried about that...

I wish, despite Conner's official divorce, he would go back home and leave Toby to be with Tybalt. I like Connor, but don't think they have enough chemistry. Great for a sibling type of relationship though... (hide spoiler)]

Loved the Barghasts, May and the Luideag the most!:) Looking forward to the next book!:)))

Choko wrote: "XYZ?

I finished... These books have been more emotional than anything else... And by emotional, I mean walking on the melancholy side. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it, but as much as we get a..."

that was my way of redacting spoilers without using more spoiler tags you would open :D

So many characters in this series evolve / reveal their true natures over time, for good or ill... makes it hard to discuss, since re-reader opinions and first time reader opinions can basically be diametrically opposed, at times...

Also, Seanan McGuire does a ton of short fiction... usually it's optional (technically always)... but sometimes, she does something that's a BIG DEAL in a short story, then never really mentions it in the main series... which boggles my mind...

A great example of this is a short story from around book 10, that is SUPER RELEVANT to the events of book 2 (one of the ones that is weakest in the series, as previously discussed)...

This is what happens: (view spoiler)[April O'Leary finally gets all her ducks in a row, and calls Toby out to help make a deal with the Night Haunts... Toby and April are able to download ALL the people that died in book 2 back into their bodies... I think the Night Haunts are involved to provide alternative bodies for any that were taken, but I think most/all were kept in storage, since they were useless to the Night Haunts without memories... and also to agree to "not do that again" and let them go to the Night Haunts like normal, next time they die...

So... after that, January O'Leary is alive again...a BIG DEAL, as Sylvester's niece and all... but it's never really mentioned... (hide spoiler)]

(Mentioning this now might have been a bit soon, considering Tamed Lightning will play into 1-2 future stories between now and that short story)

That is awesome! Why didn't she add this short between books 2 and 3? I would have loved to read that! It makes so much sense!

Choko wrote: "That is awesome! Why didn't she add this short between books 2 and 3? I would have loved to read that! It makes so much sense!"

I think there's 2-3 years between the events of book 2 and when the short story happens after book 10... this gives (view spoiler)[Toby time to learn more about her abilities / grow stronger, and time for April to mature... the death of January is what changed April from a child into an adult who understood the consequences of her actions... (hide spoiler)]

Yikes folks, I'm just jumping in--started Saturday, just barely--but y'all's spoiler tags are all... unsafe. They all look very unsafe. I'll just wait until I'm done with this book before clicking any....

Through Chapter 4. I'm doing eyebook, btw... (view spoiler)[I love May. And Danny.

Making Toby the inheritor of Everrose's Knowe... can she still be Sylvester's knight if she has her own Knowe to take care of? And the dropped hints of Toby's first case, solving Everrose's sister's murder, and finding her Knowe for her... all seems very twisty. Also, super spoilery Iain dropped hints thingy that I don't know when they become not super spoilery--(view spoiler)[what does this mean with Everrose possibly not actually dead? (hide spoiler)]

Glad that May told Toby that Tybalt has the hots for her. 'Bout time someone opened her eyes a bit. I love how May has all of Toby's memories & such, but is totally her own person.

Also finding it very interesting going straight from Amber, which also has an Oberon, to these books... and reading curses about Oberon's hairy balls... (hide spoiler)]

I went deep into unsafe stuff, yea... I talked a bit about safe stuff, but mostly unsafe stuff...

Nirkatze wrote: "Yikes folks, I'm just jumping in--started Saturday, just barely--but y'all's spoiler tags are all... unsafe. They all look very unsafe. I'll just wait until I'm done with this book before clicking ..."

My main discussion point, the changeling's choice, is about halfway through the book... it would have been obvious when it was safe, within the plot...

Knowe: The Winter Long (#8)

Hairy Balls: I love how when the Luideag swears, she replaces Oberon's/Maeve's with Mom's/Dad's :D

Haha! I hadn't noticed that, but that is hilarious!!!

Yeah Luideag is the best! :D

Also, sorry Nirkatze! Lots of landmines dropped with these spoilers lol

LOL Looking forward to opening them when it's time! I do love presents...

Also definitely going to be keeping an eye out for the Luideag swearing.

Up through Chapter 12 now. (view spoiler)[I'm rather pissed off at SimonSylvester (EDIT: thanks Iain) for taking things out on Toby like that--can't he see that if Toby hadn't been there, Luna would have been lying in the garden with NO ONE KNOWING for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG? Toby being there when Luna collapsed means there is at least a lead on what is going on, while if she hadn't been there, Luna could be dead already. Stupid Sylvester. Not going to let you play the insane card on this one either, buster.

Also a bit annoyed at Toby for not seriously considering the questions Tybalt was bringing up--if no one else sensed Oleander at all, shouldn't that bring up more questions? Yes, Toby seems to have a preternatural nose (especially since Iain has been dropping big winky hints around this) so it is possible she is catching things others wouldn't--but a whole invisible person? That is an angle worth pursuing. And so is the whole question of motive--if both Luna and Lily's descents are connected, then what connects them? What makes them a possible target? Is it actually Oleander, and if so, is she doing it for herself or for hire? Or is Oleander a red herring, a dream sent to throw Toby off scent? Raysel seems like a good suspect...

The whole bit with the Fae court not knowing how to deal with proper crime-scene procedures was pretty funny. (hide spoiler)]

That was hilarious! You sent them all home? What about questioning the witnesses?! Haha!

Chapter 13--(view spoiler)[Lily seems to be dropping some big hints on Toby... was she actually created, somehow, to be Amandine's replacement? And replacement how? Sacrifice? To take her place in Faerie so Amandine could be with her mortal love? What did she need a replacement for, what duties or events did she not want to deal with?

Amandine carries the sins of her mother... who?

Lily's Japanese phrases: "Anata wa jibun no koto wa shiranakatta wa"--you did not know yourself, about yourself.
"Konya no sakura wa totemo kirei da na..." Tonight's cherry blossoms are so pretty...--also interesting, because in Japanese culture, the cherry blossom symbolizes the ephemeral nature of both beauty and life, and is often used in poetry and song to celebrate the bittersweetness of love in the face of death, or when facing the end of one's life and loss of youthful beauty.

I find it convenient that Toby inherited a Knowe right when Lily's people need sanctuary. Come on Toby, put pieces together... though also a bit concerned that Toby hasn't even had a chance to think about the political mire that is her recent appointment... what is the Lady's (Queen's??) game, and is it connected to Lily and Luna?

Also hopeful, that since Lily is a personality of water, and as she said--no night haunts--that this isn't the end for Lily... she more needs that book 2 computer personality storage thing.... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 14 (view spoiler)[May's conversation about Jaz--and starting to think it is over before it actually ends--reminds me of The Measure... people getting a piece of string which exactly measures the length of their life--and all the implications of that. It ain't over 'til it's over! I feel like May is in a good place to make good on that saying "live every day like it's your last"--so May, what do you want to do? I'm sure you don't want to spend your last days sitting in a room moping about it being your last days... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 15 (view spoiler)[Hoping that Manny showing up at Toby's was just a ploy to try to get the knife... and that that whole drama scene wasn't a red herring for him to plant or steal something else...

Also pissed at all the people blaming Toby for everything. Blame the actual killers, idiots! Not the people trying to stop them! I can't stand illogical people. One thing guaranteed to get me riled in a book is stupid people blaming the wrong folks, selves or otherwise. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 16 (view spoiler)[So, Toby's ongoing headache has me curious. Could she be expending magic subconsciously? Was she also infected/poisoned and her body is battling it?

And Tybalt has a point. His phone call was one step short of "people are dying"--why isn't Toby taking it more seriously?

Interesting about Toby being a "Child of Oberon"--makes me think of how Luideag calls Toby a hero, an heroes are of Oberon... Also curious about who that human woman was, who had been to the Kingdom of the Cait Sidhe. Why are the Daoine Sidhe "Children of Oberon" instead of one of the Queens? I don't remember that part... or is it just Toby?

And kitties? Man... this poisoner needs to die... (hide spoiler)]

I keep looking at the chapter images and wondering how it connects... book one had a rose with splotches, probably blood. Book two had circuits. Three was a candle. Four has a butterfly... actually, I think they all have blood splotches.

I don't know of any butterfly references... unless it's caterpillar-cocoon-butterfly, like Toby is coming out of her cocoon stage...

Chapter 17--(view spoiler)[I like that Oleander's confrontation with Toby brought the whole not-there thing out into the open. I don't think I want to subscribe to her non-existence, but if she's not there physically, how she could show up in Toby's mind's-eye, and mind's-nose for that matter, is an interesting question. It reminds a lot of the dream Karen sent. Can Toby's senses be hijacked at a distance?

Definitely not buying that Toby is behind everything, beyond just well, Toby is story-hero and this isn't Jekyll and Hyde. But also, opportunity? How would she have known what meat to poison for Tybalt's court? She didn't see Luna before she met her in the garden. And Lily got sick long before Toby showed up...

And if these poisonings are aimed at Toby, via the ones she cares for--why? It doesn't seem the most logical way to attack the new Countess... why not go for May or Danny? Stacy? Karen even? The people actually in her closest circle, who are more vulnerable? No, this person is targeting people of power... taking out Lily's Knowe, attacking Tybalt's power base, removing SimonSylvester's (EDIT: Thanks Iain!) prop on sanity... this looks more like a multi-pronged district-wide de-stabilization or territory grab... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 18 (view spoiler)[Thank goodness for Tybalt. I rather wish I could slap Toby myself. Puh-lease! Don't believe illusion-Oleander! There are lots more explanations and possibilities! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19--(view spoiler)[Hah! The headache is related to being poisoned! Just not magic holding it off. First mention of a headache was when she was summoned to the Queen's court. Next one was at Beltaine... and she did have one cup of wine.

19 Chapters in and still not a thought spared for Toby's new Knowe inheritance... big elephant in each chapter. (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "LOL Looking forward to opening them when it's time! I do love presents...

Also definitely going to be keeping an eye out for the Luideag swearing.

Up through Chapter 12 now. I'm rather pissed off..."

Um... (view spoiler)[Simon is the evil twin that turned Toby into a fish... you mean Sylvester....

What drives me crazy with this story, is how quickly they glom to Lily being made sick through her water/pearl, but how long it takes to connect Luna to her roses... (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 13--..."

If you pay very close attention to the text (and we keep telling you you should), and word choices/pluralization...

Chapter 13: (view spoiler)[Toby isn't Amandine's first child... and Toby's dad isn't Amandine's first husband... and when paired with revelations from Luideag later in the book... (view spoiler)[Amandine the Liar is The Last of the First... the youngest Firstborn in Faerie... the last before Oberon/Titania/Maeve disappeared... and further details about this are one of the large mysteries of most of the books to date...

Given this, Amandine is a bit of a youngest child having a tantrum... her kids are living hope chests with a hero complex... trying to make their mother happy and fix Faerie... (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 15: tell me about it... the first Kate Daniels book drives me crazy, because of bad editing, making misplaced blame scene like 10x worse...

Chapter 16: (view spoiler)[children in Faerie pick who their dominant parent is, especially in cases of divorce... but, to continue my post-Luideag spoiler from chapter 13, (view spoiler)[Amandine's mother is neither Maeve or Titania... that's part of the mystery I was referring to... (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

My single spoiler tages are safe here, my double deep spoiler tags are questionable... I'm spelling out things that you need to decipher from people that know things but aren't being clear about in their wordings (but still keeping some secrets for when they're revealed later... mostly pointing out the mysteries, not giving all the answers)...

Nirkatze wrote: "I keep looking at the chapter images and wondering how it connects... book one had a rose with splotches, probably blood. Book two had circuits. Three was a candle. Four has a butterfly... actually..."

My first thought was the Butterfly Effect, but a quick google search shows that Oleander Butterflies exist...

Chapter 17: (view spoiler)[pretty sure Toby's been poisoned since she touched the sugar on the rim of the glass at the party... the glass Miriam/Oleander messed with...

Simon/Sylvester, again :D (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 19: The Knowe is mostly saved for the In This House short story... and the next couple books...

Lol was just about to comment I think Nirkatze meant Sylvester, not Simon...

I like seeing the chapter by chapter notes! And Nirkatze Holmes over here always figuring things out early in books :D

I went through all the same thoughts, Nirkatze! And Iain and Emily have been awesome guides for this series!!! Thank you, guys!!! ❤️

This is definitely one I can talk about, given enough to respond to... chapter notes help me be more targeted in my responses...

Nirkatze wrote: "Chapter 13--Lily seems to be dropping some big hints on Toby... was she actually created, somehow, to be Amandine's replacement? And replacement how? Sacrifice? To take her place in Faerie so Amand..."

Re 13 (view spoiler)[ Thanks for the tranlsations of the Japanese! I was going to look it up, but I didn't have the text version. I'm guessing it was written out in romaji?
Were the sentences constructed well? I would think McGuire would consult someone who knows Japanese if she were to include it in her book.

Oh wow the cherry blossom line makes me pretty sad now. Poor Lily! (hide spoiler)]

14 (view spoiler)[ May's hair thing really reminded me of Interview with the Vampire (the movie) when the child vampire tries to cut her hair and it just keeps growing back. That must be super disempowering (is that a word) to have no control over your body. I can totaly understand May's moping, but you're right that she should consider what she wants to do. Also I love Jaz and May's relationship. "Oh you're a psychopomp, well so am I" (hide spoiler)]

@Iain--thank you for all the notes & comments! Definitely makes me interested in rereading to catch all these little clues at some point, and thank you all for catching my Simon/Sylvester mixup... going on about 2 hours sleep weeknights is my only excuse... Interesting that the butterflies point to Oleander...

re: Roses--(view spoiler)[I didn't think of the roses connection myself, until Toby figured it out. XD But yeah, it does seem like it should have been obvious... I can forgive Toby, if she's as sleep deprived as I am... (hide spoiler)]

@Emily re: Japanese--yeah the sentences were written out in romaji. They were pretty generically structured... nothing wrong with them, but a bit textbook... if I were going to nitpick, (view spoiler)[I probably would've taken more consideration into what "you" word to pick--"anata" is very textbook, and is usually used generically when you don't know who you are talking to, or from people of higher power to subordinates, like teachers to students. More commonly, Japanese people will refer to people by their name when talking to them, essentially speaking in third person rather than second. Considering Lily's relationship to Toby, I would think she would use Toby's name, even maybe calling her Toby-chan since she's known her since she was a baby, or maybe used "kimi" to show more closeness, and also more of a power-difference, but "anata" could go with Lily being a formal person...

And I'd probably replace the second "wa" in the sentence with "nante"--it's very uncommon to have two topic-marking "wa" particles in a sentence, and using "nante" gives a good emphasis...

But I'm also not a native-speaker, just a lifelong learner. I'd be curious what Mel's thoughts might be, since she's been living over there for a while.

Nothing wrong with the sakura line... again, it's very textbook, instead of really natural, but nothing wrong with it. But again, if I were to nitpick, it's a bit of a contrast to have this big honker of a Japanese sentence followed by single trailing words--might've broken it in two also and swapped out "totemo" since it's kind of bland for "very" and there's better options... with something like "konya no sakura wa ne... nante kirei da na..." "tonight's sakura... oh so pretty..." (hide spoiler)]

Really like the Interview with the Vampire comparison!

Chapter 21 (view spoiler)[OK, why do Manuel and Rayseline have Lily's pearl? Definitely looks suspicious on them--I'd believe that Rayseline has friendly contact with Oleander... Stockholm syndrome? How did Raysel & Luna escape? Either Raysel was in on it, or Oleander planted the pearl for them to find...

Also starting to wonder about how everyone seems so sure that Oleander being there is "impossible"--what do they know that Toby doesn't? Did Raysel or Luna tell folks Oleander was dead or something?

Not entirely sure how the whole knight thing works... first they said that Toby is now sworn to the Queen and not Sylvester (look, I got it right this time!) anymore because she took the Knowe/Title. But then they were like, "no we must wait until her liege is informed"--seemed a little back-and-forth. Is she now sworn to two masters? Or owes fealty to Queen but still sworn to Sylvester? Doesn't Sylvester owe fealty to the Queen already? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 22--okay, so this is how I wish Toby had reacted (view spoiler)[when Tybalt called her. Driving like crazy. Not stopping for anything. Bursting in the door. Can I blame the poison in her system?

With Spike down--even if it is an effect of the Roses in general, and not specifically Spike-aimed--it made me think more about these attacks. Especially with Toby poisoned, it does look like they might be actually aimed at Toby, and not just her being peripheral to a different political move... but why? I keep coming back to the "sins of the mother" comment from Lily, and Karen's dream. What if this whole thing is just to corner Toby into a situation that will force Amandine to come out? Aimed at Amandine instead? OR, could it have to do with Amandine's plans for Toby--and Oleander is actually working with Amandine, to push Toby to the next level? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 23 (view spoiler)[Well, that was a phone call. Definitely looks like Toby is the target... but fullstop, or just tangential/portal target?

And does Toby stop to think that Oleander's words might be manipulating her? Why would Oleander give her hints about where her next target is unless she wanted Toby to be at a specific place? I'm more worried for Walther... I feel like the smart thing to do would've been to hit the payphone and start making calls--to Tybalt, Walther, Sylvester--get the warning out, rather than start running... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 24 Okay, so this is the choice thing y'all were talking about--(view spoiler)[so... does making the choice twice then make her more fae?

Bittersweet getting to see her father again, in her memories... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 25 (view spoiler)[So it did flush out Amandine... like she was waiting for it. And interesting how the blood can be used like this too... and Toby's question of a hope chest... how much does the blood store? How much can be restored through it's memories...

And oh cool! turning her blood-knowledge on herself! That's nifty. Seeing the aftershocks of what her mother did to her... looks like she is her mother's little experiment...

Tybalt's bit comes clear now, yay! And the bit about not being Daoine Sidhe, so Amandine isn't Daoine Sidhe either--not even same Firstborn ancestor. Wouldn't people know she's not Daoine Sidhe?--ah, answered, yes they did... but no one told Toby. *sigh* So what is Toby then? Or is she and family the one & only of this type?

I also find it interesting that Toby's magic is copper and cut grass--copper for blood, and cut grass is just such a nice refreshing scent, reminiscent of new things, new beginnings, renewal.

Really glad May didn't get wiped out by Toby's moment of deathiness. And free too! And still herself! I've been thinking about May too... and wondering how Fetches work, exactly... like, May is obviously her own person--and also a full-blooded Fae. She has all of Toby's memories up to a point, but has always had her own personality. When Toby dies, does the Fetch actually die--or just get the slate wiped clean, filed away until impressed with the next set of memories? Almost like a reverse Night Haunt?

So, who is the Lady of the Lake? Have we met her yet? I don't think we've met Morgane yet either... I don't remember a Morgane in tales... Morgause, Morgana, Morgan le Fay, Morgaine, Maeve, Mab, Morrigan... lots of M names... I guess Morgane could be Morgaine/Morrigan or Morgan le Fay? All very Arthurian... (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 26--(view spoiler)[Trial definitely seems to be more about Toby's mother than her. And the mention of "bloodline" madness--suggests it isn't just Amandine they're talking about. Who has gone mad in Toby's family, and harmed the Queen?

Is the Queen entrapping Toby to try and smoke her mother out (too)? Is Raysel just crazy or a willing accomplice? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 27--(view spoiler)[OK, so it does have to do with mama dearest. But less Toby herself... and more that Amandine has been meddling around since Toby resurfaced... but why hasn't Toby seen this meddling? Or have the cases coming Toby's way all been orchestrated by Amandine? The hope chest and Winterrose. The thing with January & April. Even Blind Michael... if we look behind them, will we see strings?

I still have to wonder how deep the conspiracies go. Did the Queen also allow the jailbreak? Is there another level of conspiracy? Does she have a win-win plan with Toby alive or dead? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 28 (view spoiler)[I'm glad Toby is getting a better handle on where blame actually resides for people who die... also glad that some of the people around her are also getting that same memo... (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "@Iain--thank you for all the notes & comments! Definitely makes me interested in rereading to catch all these little clues at some point, and thank you all for catching my Simon/Sylvester mixup... ..."

Most of the clues were in that scene (view spoiler)[where Karen showed Toby when Oleander showed up to yell at Amandine's tower... (hide spoiler)]